Disruption isn't cool. Historically, disruptive ideas and companies haven't been those behind the groundbreaking technologies or products--i.e., the cool stuff. Disrupters aren't usually first to market with a new invention. They are, however, visionaries who grasp how an existing idea can be made better or cheaper or accessible to millions.

History is littered with examples: Ford's assembly line and stripped-down Model T brought cars to the everyman. Steve Jobs took the computer mouse, at the time a custom-built and expensive gadget, and had someone figure out how to make it for less than a quarter of the cost. Amazon.com didn't create online shopping, but it did bring millions of products to one storefront and deliver a better price.

The same goes for our disrupters here. They saw opportunities, ignored by existing players in their fields, to get in, grow big, change the game--and get rich along the way.